Junior Chamber International (JCI) Sri Lanka announced the inauguration of BIZMEET 2016, Sri Lanka’s first ever professional networking events aimed at promoting consistently ethical business practices among the country’s future corporate leaders.

The inaugural event drew attendance from several distinguished guests. Among those present at the launch of BIZMEET were Deputy Minister of State Enterprise Development,Eran Wickramaratne, who addressed the audience on the ‘Importance of ethical decision making for a sustainable economy and to attract FDI to Sri Lanka’.

Member of the European Parliament, Mr. Nirj Deva sounded the keynote for the event with an address on the ‘Global approach for ethics in business’.

Organised by the JCI Colombo South chapter of respected international non-profit organisation, JCI, BIZMEET targets young managers of corporate entities who will be leading their respective businesses in the near future.

Comprised of a series of ten entertaining and informative networking, the sessions will focus on the importance of ethical business practices and sustainable development goals. Through this, the forum’s organisers intend to empower young business leaders with the tools required to consistently make ethical decisions even in the most challenging environments.

Speaking at the inauguration, BIZMEET Founder and National President of JCI Sri Lanka, Isuru Samarage stated: “Our efforts are purely to empower young leaders to make a positive change in their businesses. We understand the importance of government driving ethical practices but what we want to address through BIZMEET are the responsibilities of businesses to drive a conscience-based approach towards sustainability. This will ensure their own long-term survival but also will work to the betterment of our national economy as well.”

The inauguration event also drew participation from several other prominent personalities in the Sri Lankan corporate and diplomatic spheres including Deputy Head – Politics, Trade and Communication, Mr. Roshan Lymaan, Director and Founder of Right Business, Mr. Priyanga Hettiarachchi and Chief Commercial Officer of the South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT), Mr. Ted Muttiah.

JCI International Vice President, JC Amzad Hussein, Member of European Parliament, Mr. Nirj Dewa, Deputy Minister of State Enterprise Development, Eran Wickramaratne, BIZMEET Founder and National President of JCI Sri Lanka, Isuru Samarage, and BIZMEET Project Chairman and JCI Colombo South Chapter President.

Following its inaugural session, BIZMEET will thereafter host ten weekday evening sessions on a monthly basis (one session per month). While supporting participants in their efforts to learn more about the value of ethical business practices they also hope to gradually build a network of young, ethical business leaders who will work diligently to chart the course of Sri Lanka’s economic trajectory in the coming decades.

The programme has already received strong representation from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union Delegation (EU), and strategically partnered with Give2SriLanka in order to carry out the inaugural sessions. The organisers and their strategic partners are also working to attract Public, Private and Civil Society representation at future events in order to further develop BIZMEET into a regular and respected fixture in Sri Lanka’s corporate events calendar.

“Ideally, business ethics ought to be included in early education itself and that is perhaps something that the state will consider in greater detail moving forward. However there are always measures that can be taken now to start driving a positive change. We believe that in organising BIZMEET and focusing on the second-level management of businesses, we have created a vital opportunity to achieve this vision,” BIZMEET Project Chairman and JCI Colombo South Chapter President, Natalie Goonewardene reiterated.

JCI (Junior Chamber International) is an international Non-Profit Organization with a history of over 100 years and currently operates in 116 countries around the world, of which Sri Lanka has been a part of the organisation for over 60 years.

The organization structures its programmes around categories of Empowerment, International, Community and Development, with a view to providing opportunities for international youth leaders to generate meaningful and positive changes in their respective home countries. JCI is among one of the few organizations granted consultative status by the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), advancing a long term partnership and collaboration in sharing similar goals and working towards the enhancement of the communities.